Minister must act to preserve the last extant battlefield from 1916

The following 1916 buildings of National historic importance will be destroyed and lost forever should the NAMA Project Jewel auction of the 1916 Moore Street Battleground proceed.

1916 relatives now call on Minister Heather Humphreys TD as the guardian of our history and heritage to carry out her duty to preserve them under powers available to her under National Monument legislation without delay. They are:

1. The O’Brien’s Mineral Water Building, Henry Place — Occupied by Volunteers.

2. The White House, Henry Place — Occupied and held by Volunteers, led by Michael Collins.

3. No.10 Moore Street — Point of entry into the terrace and location of The First Council of War. The leaders rested here overnight five of whom were signatories to the 1916 Proclamation.

4. The O’Brien’s Bottling Stores to the rear of 10 Moore Street and Moore Lane — occupied by a Volunteer attachment led by Frank Henderson.

5. Hanlons, 20/21 Moore Street — The surrender order was finally accepted by volunteers here after consultation with Thomas Clarke, Joseph Plunkett, Michael Collins and Sean Mac Diarmada.

No’s 14 to 17 Moore Street were deemed worthy of protection in line with DAHG Architectural Protection guidelines for Planning authorities as ‘of ‘Historical Interest’ due to their association with an important historical event, namely the Easter Rising, meriting a National rating for their historic importance.

It simply cannot be denied that the above buildings merit similar protection and preservation. They must not be demolished.

James Connolly Heron

Proinsias Ó Rathaille,

1916 Relatives Centenary Initiative,

Dublin